Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center

The Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center (AIMRC) is an NIH-designated Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) established in April 2021 at the University of Arkansas with Phase I funding from NIGMS (P20GM139768).

Metabolism plays a key role in human health. Dysregulation of metabolism is responsible for several pathological conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, wound healing, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s. Metabolic research encompasses studies involving a broad range of chemical reactions needed for the conversion of food/molecules to energy, the elimination of waste products, and the conversion of molecules to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates. This work can focus on the level of the whole organism, specific tissues, individual cells, or individual organelles, such as mitochondria (the energy producing “powerhouses” of the cell). Research conducted within the AIMRC largely focuses on understanding changes in metabolism at the tissue and cellular level, and how these changes impact disease, aging, and tissue repair.

By elucidating the complex relationship between metabolism and different disease states using established bioenergetics assays, advanced label-free imaging technology and cutting-edge data science approaches, novel therapeutic targets and mechanistic insights can be identified to establish new treatment approaches for a variety of diseases.


Research Cores

Image of stained cells.

Data Science

image of mitochondria

Bioenergetics

Image of confocal fluorescence imaging of a cell.

Imaging and Spectroscopy


Seminar Series

04
September2024
Dr. Kevin MurachUniversity of Arkansas
Exploring the role of MYC in muscle mass regulation
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
11
September2024
Dr. Alan WoessnerUniversity of Arkansas
Multiphoton Microscope Basics: From Study Design to Data Analysis
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
18
September2024
Dr. Chris Nelson/Dr. Kevin Murach & Dr. Jian ZhangUniversity of Arkansas
Epigenome engineering for precise genetic perturbation of skeletal muscle gene
expression and metabolism (Nelson/Murach) and Investigating the bioenergetics of tumor cell clustering and cell-cell interactions (Zhang)
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
25
September2024
TBDTBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
02
October2024
Dr. Danielle SchmidtUCLA
TBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
09
October2024
Dr. Joanna FiddlerUniversity of Arkansas
TBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
16
October2024
TBDTBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
30
October2024
TBDTBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
13
November2024
Dr. Thomas HurdUniversity of Toronto
TBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
20
November2024
Dr. John McCarthyUniversity of Kentucky
TBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom
04
December2024
Dr. Rob GriffinUAMS
TBD
12:55 pmBELL 2267 / Zoom

For more information, or to participate in center events, please contact Kimberley Fuller at fullerk@uark.edu.


Contact AIMRC

Contact the AIMRC here to learn more about funding opportunities, core services, and center events.